Mission and objectives

Enabling Rural Opportunity Network (ERONet), formally Agoro Community Development Association (ACDA) is a locally led nonprofit organization based in Agoro Sub-County, Lamwo District, Northern Uganda. The organization works to empower rural communities by expanding access to education, health services, and economic opportunities for vulnerable populations, particularly children, youth, and women. ERONet’s mission is to enable rural communities to overcome structural barriers to opportunity by strengthening access to quality education, improved health outcomes, and sustainable livelihoods. To achieve this mission, ERONet focuses on the following objectives: • Expanding access to education for vulnerable rural children, especially girls, through scholarships, school support programs, and community engagement. • Improving community health and well-being, including support for households affected by neglected diseases and other health vulnerabilities. • Strengthening household resilience and livelihoods through community-based economic empowerment and skills development initiatives. • Promoting child protection and social inclusion, ensuring that disadvantaged and marginalized groups have a voice and access to opportunities. • Building partnerships with local and international organizations to mobilize resources, knowledge, and technical expertise for rural development. • Supporting locally led development initiatives that enable communities to identify and address their own priorities sustainably. ERONet currently implements community programs across education, health, and livelihoods, including initiatives that support vulnerable girls in rural areas to access and remain in secondary education.

Context

This assignment will support a new education initiative being developed by Enabling Rural Opportunity Network (ERONet) to expand access to secondary education for vulnerable girls in rural Northern Uganda. In many rural communities in the region, girls face significant barriers to education, including poverty, early marriage, and limited household resources. In response, ERONet has launched the Agoro Girls Education Pilot Initiative, which provides financial and mentorship support to selected girls to help them enroll in and remain in secondary school. As this initiative is at an early stage, ERONet is seeking to establish a Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) framework that will guide how the program tracks progress, measures results, and captures lessons for future program development. The Online Volunteer will contribute by supporting ERONet in developing a practical MEAL framework from the beginning. This framework will help the organization monitor student progress, document outcomes, and ensure transparency and accountability to supporters who are contributing to the initiative. The developed framework will also help ERONet generate learning from the pilot project and inform the design of future education programs aimed at expanding opportunities for rural girls.

Task Description

Enabling Rural Opportunity Network (ERONet) is seeking support from an Online Volunteer with experience in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) to help develop a practical MEAL framework for a pilot initiative supporting rural girls’ access to secondary education in Northern Uganda. The volunteer will work with ERONet’s leadership to design a simple and effective MEAL system that will guide monitoring, learning, and reporting for the Agoro Girls Education Pilot and future education programs. Specific tasks may include: • Supporting the development of a new MEAL framework for the girls’ education pilot project • Defining clear project indicators for monitoring school attendance, retention, academic progress, and student well-being • Designing practical monitoring tools and data collection templates suitable for use in rural field settings • Advising on baseline information and monitoring schedules across school terms • Proposing simple reporting formats that help communicate progress to project supporters and partners • Recommending learning and accountability mechanisms to capture lessons from the pilot project • Providing guidance on how ERONet can scale and apply the MEAL framework to future programs The assignment will be completed remotely through document collaboration, email communication, and occasional virtual meetings with ERONet’s Executive Director. The volunteer will mainly contribute through technical advice, document development, and structured feedback, helping ERONet establish a solid foundation for monitoring and learning in its education programs.

Competencies and values

Living conditions and remarks